Sister
by Innray
Summary: Obi-Wan's younger sister was a Jedi Padawan. She was Obi-Wan's best friend, second only to Anakin. This is her story. Told from Jai's the sister PoV. Prolouge is in Obi-Wan's PoV. BTW: I've heard that Jai seems like a MarySue, just so you know.
1. Prologue

_"Master, we were wrong about him. He betrayed us."_

_"Don't lose faith so quickly, Padawan. He may come around."_

_"But-"_

_"Padawan, just wait. You'll see."_

Obi-Wan sighed, his head in his hands. He looked up and saw his reflection in the wall of the ship. He looked ill, careworn, tired, and _old_. He was also sad. He lost everything and everybody he'd ever known and loved.

Bant.

Garen.

Qui-Gon.

Master Windu.

The names tolled a bell in his head, but one name stood out.

Jai.

His youngest sibling.

She'd also been Force-sensitive, taken to the Temple at just under two months old.

He'd been older than her by twenty-one years, but they'd been the best of friends.

And now, she was gone.

Killed by his former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker.

The one who was supposed to bring balance to the Force.

A voice brought him back to where he was.

"Obi-Wan, where you'll be staying, this is." It was Master Yoda.

He rose from his chair, took the bundle that lay next to him, and exited the ship.

A fierce wind hit him full in the face, making him sputter. He held the bundle tight to his chest, the boy inside still asleep. The desolate landscape ahead of him held only one thing: a moisture farm.

This was were he'd be staying for the rest of his life.

Tatooine.

After handing the baby over to his aunt and uncle, he found an abandoned cabin not too far from the farm. He sat on the bed, and drifted to sleep.

He dreamed of his sister.

Jai.


	2. Discovery

Jai opened her mouth and began to wail. She was hungry. Her mother bent over her, about to pick her up when someone knocked at the door. Her mother rushed to the door. If she could've Jai rolled her eyes. The woman opened the door to let in two men, one with a beard, and one without.

"Obi-Wan!" cried the woman, enveloping the unbearded man in a hug.

"Hello, Mother," he answered, hugging her back. The older man looked around the room, his eyes landing on Jai. She gave him a grave look. She had a vague memory of her mother telling someone that her eyes were unsettling. They were darkest blue, with only a hint of gray.

"Ma'am, we've come because you said your child was Force-sensitive?" questioned the older man, taking his gaze off Jai. Her mother ignored him.

"Obi-Wan, you've grown so much! Last time you visited, you only came up to my shoulder, now look at you! You're taller than I am! And too skinny. Are they feeding you properly at the Temple?" fussed Jai's mother, who apparently was this Obi-Wan's mother too. Obi-Wan looked self-concious

"Mom..." he muttered, turning red.

"What? I can't even make a big deal when my oldest comes for a visit? You never visit!" she responded, straightening his robe and fixing his hair. Jai was being ignored, and she was still hungry. Just then, the bottle on the table flipped over, showering Jai in a bath of milk. She started howling. That milk was _hot_!

"Oh, Jai, did you knock over your milk again? Silly girl. Now you have to wait to eat, because first you need a bath!" her mother said, picking her up, undressing her, and plopping her into the sink.

While Jai happily splashed in the warm sudsy water, the adults discussed her.

"You saw her yourself, Master Jedi, she toppled the bottle without touching it! Does that mean anything?" inquired her mother. She might be lonely without her eldest and youngest children, but she still had her middle child. When he was home, anyway.

"Master Qui-Gon, couldn't we take her to the Temple and see how she does? We're going to have to anyway," pointed out his apprentice. Qui-Gon looked contemplative, stroking his beard. Jai let out a squeal as on of the bubbles popped. Qui-Gon got up and walked over to her.

"What do you think, little one?" he asked, almost to himself. Jai's mother took the opportunity to try to give Obi-Wan thirds on tea, but he politely refused. Qui-Gon walked back over to them.

"We'll take the girl with us. She seems strong in the Force." Jai had a vague idea that she was leaving, so she held her arms out to her mother, who dressed her and gave her a bottle. They said their good-byes and left, Obi-Wan holding Jai. She watched him the whole way back to the ship, mesmerized by the swinging braid on his shoulder. Finally, she grabbed it and gave a triumphant cry. He winced, worked it away from her, and smiled.

Jai was happy. She felt safe with him.


	3. Targets and Sparring

Jai looked up at her brother, who at the moment blocked her lightsaber with a shorter, less powerful one of his own.

"You always win!" she complained as, with a flick of his wrist, he sent her lightsaber flying across the room. She put her hands on her hips, summoned all of the defiance she had in her two-year-old body, and glared up at Obi-Wan.

"I'm just better, that's all. You'll never be as good as me," he taunted her. He backed slowly out of the room. She took the bait.

"Yes I will! Yes I will!" she yelled, and started to run after him. Jai toddled as fast as she could, but could only see a bit of his braid as he turned corners. She could hear him laughing as he ran down the hall, then suddenly, he stopped. Jai ran face-first into the back of his boot and fell. He bent to pick her up.

"Hello, Master," Obi-Wan said, embarrassed. Jai reached up and climbed into a more comfortable position, on his shoulders. Qui-Gon regarded them both as she climbed, then spoke when she had finished.

"We're going on a mission, Padawan. Be ready to leave in a half hour." He took Jai off of Obi-Wan. "No distractions, hm?"

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan turned and left, looking abashed. Jai looked up at Qui-Gon, who kind of intimidated her, but she liked him anyway.

"Come along, little one," he told her, setting her down. "How's your sparring practice going?" They walked back towards the youngling's wing, where he left her. Jai stared after him, wanting to play with Obi-Wan some more. But she was distracted by her friends Ran and Thad. Ran was a small Human, smaller than the normal two-year-old. Thad was a Rodian. The three of them had already become close friends.

"Why'd Master Jinn bring you back, Jai?" asked Thad as soon as he was close enough to be heard. He was the most curious of the three.

"'Cause Obi's going somewhere!" she answered. "Want to spar?" Just then, Yoda's backwards voice echoed through the hall.

"Go, you will, younglings, to the targets room!" The three turned and saw him walking slowly down the hall. They followed him.

When they arrived at the target room, they were outfitted in helmets that blocked their vision.

"Master Yoda, I can't see!" One of the younglings had panicked. A whirring noise distracted the younglings.

"Younglings, flow through everything, the Force does. Use it to see, you can, even when blinded. Sting, the targets will, if you do not block its lasers in time." A collective gasp echoed through the room. The younglings had only ever battled while being able to see.

Jai could hear her target, but the ability of seeing was beyond her. She felt a hot whoosh of air as a laser barely missed her. She whirled around to slice the target.

"Where you were facing, you will stay, youngling," Yoda's voice reprimanded her. She turned back to the front. A sting hit her hand, making her yelp. Finally, after an hour of stings and near misses, she succeeded in hitting a target. She wasn't the only on, it seemed. Excited voices seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Enough for today, younglings. To your rooms, go." The children hurried out of the dark room. Ran was telling Jai about her stings and Jai was answering with her own on the way back.

"This one hurted! It hit me on the arm!" Ran told her. She rolled up her sleeve, and Jai looked. A very small reddish welt was on her arm.

"Yeah, I got hit on my hand lots. See?" She held out her hand, and it was covered in little marks and welts. They parted at the entrance to their rooms. Jai fell asleep almost immediately, exhausted.


	4. Sith

(Please note this takes place a bit before Attack of the Clones, so it is around eight years after the previous chapter)

Jai was woken out of her meditation by a rough hand shaking her. She opened her eyes and saw Anakin.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. He grinned.

"We're going on a mission! Obi-Wan said you could come, if you wanted," Anakin told her.

"When are we leaving?" She'd already started off towards her rooms, and Anakin had to hurry to catch up. She opened the door and hurriedly began to put her beltpack in order. _Why don't I just leave it together?_ She wondered as she put her training lightsaber, credits pouch, and comm into the belt. She looped it around her waist and looked at the door to see Anakin leaning against it, panting slightly.

"We're leaving in ten mintues."

"What's the mission?" She put food into the bowl for her stinger lizard, gave her model toy Jedi Interceptor a spin that sent it so it flew around the room. "Well?"

"There's been sightings of a Sith on Fresia. We're going to ki- I mean, take care of it." _Doesn't he sound excited. Did he forget that Qui-Gon was murdered by a Sith? _She looked at him.

"Wizard!" she said, feigning excitement. "C'mon, let's go!" They ran down the hall, Jai stopping only a moment to tell Ran and Thad where she was going. They were jealous. When Anakin and Jai got to the hangar, they found Obi-Wan waiting for them.

"Hey, Jai," he greeted her. "Hey, Anakin."

"Hi, Master! Can we get on the ship yet?" Anakin's excitement was infectious. Jai was slowly getting excited too. This was her first mission.

"Yes, yes, I was waiting for you two. Glad you came, Jai." They boraded the ship and took off. Jai raced to a window so she could see the hyperspace. She wasn't disappointed. They stars stretched into lines, and then they were invisible.

---------------

When they landed on Fresia, they were greeted by a Calici.

"Welcome, Jedi," it said. Jai wasn't sure if it was male or female.

"Hello, sir. We've been told that there has been sightings of a Sith in this city. Do you know anything of this?" Obi-Wan wasn't fazed by the odd creature, so Jai decided not to be either.

"Why, actually, I've seen it myself. I was in the mines one day, and saw him ducking into the shadows. He had black hair and dark eyes, though I couldn't be sure because it was dark in the mine. Follow me, and I'll take you there." The Calici turned and started moving as soon as he finished talking. Jai rushed to catch up. They were headed towards a mountain. As they approached, she could see a huge hole in the front, where the miners would go in. She tugged on Obi-Wan's sleeve.

"What?"

"What's that?" She pointed to a mark that looked that a burn or scorch on the side of the mountain.

"I'm not sure." The Calici seemed to know what they were talking about.

"Last year, a mining accident burnt a hole in the top of the mountain. It is unstable there, but we've fixed it as best as we could. Please try to stay away from there." Obi-Wan glanced sideways at Jai.

"That's what it is," he whispered.

When they got to the entrance of the mountain, Anakin looked around.

"Something's not right here," he told the others. Obi-Wan agreed.

"That would be who you are looking for. Excuse me, I prefer not to linger while there is a evil being around." The Calici left them. Jai took her lightsaber out of her belt and held it, passing it from hand to hand. _Why'd Obi-Wan bring _me_ if there's a Sith here? _she wondered. A shadow darted to a pile of rubble in front of them. Jai thought she could hear breathing, then noticed it was just Anakin. Another shadow appeared in the doorway to their left. The first made itself seen.

"Hello, Jedi. I am Jefline Syne, and this," the man gestured towards the figure at the door. "Is my apprentice, Iguni Tinn. I am a polite man, so I will ask for your introductions also." The figure in the doorway emerged. It was a girl around ten, with black hair, dark eyes, and a small build. Jai figured she could take on this Iguni.

"I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, and Jai Kenobi, my sister." Obi-Wan finished, then whispered to Jai: "You go after the girl, Anakin and I will take Jefline."

"Pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately, as we were here first, I will have to...er...take care of you. So, shall we begin?" As Jefline finished speaking, he drew his lightsaber. It was red. At the same time, Iguni drew hers. It was also red. Iguni turned and ran down the hall where she'd come from. Jai took off after her, shedding her cloak as she ran. At the end of the hall, there was a spacious room, with Iguni standing in the middle. Jai drew her blue training lightsaber, hoping it'd be strong enough to defeat the girl. Iguni laughed.

"You expect to kill me with that toy?" she sneered. "Why, I played with something like that when I was four!"

"I'm not old enough to have a proper lightsaber yet," said Jai. Iguni dashed towards her, and almost cut Jai in two, but she blocked it. They fought in this room, Iguni taunting Jai.

"So that's your brother, then, the old man? I must ask, how old is your mother-ninety? You look like you're ten, and he's at least in his thirties. Were you adopted? Or are you older than you lookk? Or, perhaps, like I said before, is your mother an old hag?" Jai lunged at Iguni, nearly hitting her, but she dodged it. Iguni's smirk turned into a snarl. The battle continued, both ten-year-olds fighting to the death.


	5. I'm a Cyborg!

Jai was tiring quickly. _She's strong-this is harder than battling even Obi-Wan!_ she thought wildly. Then, as Jai let her guard down just a bit, Iguni took her chance. She kicked the lightsaber out of Jai's hand, and it flew back, where it hit the wall and fizzled out.

"So, now that you're defenseless against me, are you going to surrender or just let me kill you?" Iguni asked, swinging her lightsaber so close that Jai could feel the heat radiating off of it. As Iguni set up to kill her, Jai backflipped out of her reach, arcing high into the air. She landed next to her lightsaber, grabbing it and switching it on in one fluid motion. Iguni stared.

"You expect me to be amazed by that? Come on, my monkey lizard could do better! You're just a stupid little _youngling_!" With that, Iguni darted down one of the halls in the room. Jai raced after her. She could hear her malicious laughter echoing in front of her. The hall stopped in a room much like the one they were in before. Jai couldn't see Iguni anywhere, though. Jai felt a tremor in the Force and turned just in time to see Iguni kick her lightsaber out of her hand-_again_.

"You know, that's getting a bit old," Jai stalled as she tried to formulate a plan. The flip wouldn't work again, and she had no other way of reaching it. Iguni swung her light saber forward, and Jai jumped as high as he could, but her left leg didn't go high enough. Blazing hot pain went all the way up her leg, but below her knee she just felt coldness. She crashed to the floor, and saw her leg in her boot sitting next to her.

"Now you won't be able to do your pretty little flips and twirls anymore, huh?" Iguni sneered. She paced in front of Jai, like a tiger in front of her prey.

______________________________________________________________________

Obi-Wan felt a shake in the Force. He looked at Anakin, who was fin, just fighting. _Jai!_

"Anakin, finish him off, then follow me! Try to do it quickly!" Obi-Wan sprinted down the hall that Jai'd gone, and came to a room with at least five halls. Laughing and a scream came from the far right one, and he took off for that one. He came into a room and Jai was on the floor, blood flowing out of her knee. The Iguni girl was standing over her, closing in for the kill. Obi-Wan whipped out his lightsaber, and suddenly he was being lifted into the air. Jolts of pain that felt like electricity ripped through his body. He managed to turn enough so that he could see Jefline using Force-lightening. Anakin crept into the room behind Jefline, made a shushing motion with his hand, and "took care of" Jefline. His body fell to the floor, and Obi-Wan landed slightly more gracefully next to him. Anakin and Obi-Wan approached Iguni, who laughed.

"You're going to kill me? Me, a girl only ten, the same age as your sister?" Obi-Wan was saved from answering by Iguni's continuation. "I overtook her," she jerked a thumb at Jai, who had passed out, "fair and square. I'm going to kill her, try and stop me!"

Obi-Wan moved before he could think. With a snarl, Iguni switched directions with her lightsaber, pointed it at herself, and ran herself through. Her last words were: "Like I'm going to...let myself be killed by scum!" The two men ignored her body and ran to Jai. Anakin picked her up easily: at seventeen he was already stronger than Obi-Wan. They ran down the hall back to their ship. The "Sith" were taken care of, now it was Jai's turn.

______________________________________________________________________

Vague memories flitted through Jai's mind as she woke. Anakin had carried her back to the ship, and Obi-Wan had ran next to them, his worried face seemed like it was floating above her. They had boarded the ship and had found a small medical center on a nearby planet. Voices drifted around her, along with electronic noise. She opened her eyes and saw Obi-Wan hunched in a chair next to her bed.

"Hi, Obi," she said weakly. He raised his head and signaled to somebody, then scooted his chair closer.

"Hi, Jai. How're you feeling?"

"Like I got ran over by a hoard of rampaging wampas. You?" She remembered he had gotten Force-lightening used on him.

"A bit sore, but other than that I'm fine."

"Anakin?"

"He's getting sleep, we've been taking shifts. You've been out for two days, Iguni was much stronger than we'd thought." Jai looked at her legs. One was still there, pink and healthy. She wiggled those toes. The other wasn't, in its place was a bulky metal casing.

"Why is there a bulky metal casing on my leg? Aren't I getting a fake one?"

"Well, yes, but they're not done with it yet." Just then, a nurse came in carrying a bundle of wires and metal. She scootched a chair nearer to the floor of the bed and set about attaching it. Jai felt tingles of feeling coming up from her knee.

"Thought you said they weren't finished, Obi-Wan," she commented. He didn't say anything. After about an hour, the nurse stepped back.

"Why don't you try that out, and see how it works, okay?" Jai sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and touched the floor. Obi-Wan helped her up. She walked around the room, the prosthetic leg making a slight whirring noise. After a while, that stopped.

"It fits, and it feels like my old leg. Doesn't look like it, though," Jai raised her new leg. "Look, Obi-Wan, I'm a cyborg!"

He stifled a laugh. "Jai, um...hate to break it to you, but...you're not a cyborg unless you have more than just a prosthetic leg..."

"She's taking it rather better than most patients do, the leg, I mean," the nurse told Obi-Wan as they were leaving. "She should be fine to leave tomorrow!"

Anakin came running up as soon as the nurse left. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, Padawan. She's asleep. We're leaving tomorrow, so be ready."

"Okay!"

---------------

The next morning, they left. Jai was driving everyone insane on the ship, taking her boot off and insisting on showing them that she was, in fact, a cyborg. After Obi-Wan told them to just let her be, they stopped correcting her. When they arrived back at the Temple, the healer there insisted that she checked Jai's leg and Obi-Wan. The healer was sure something had gone unchecked on the "primitive little medical center", and she must check them. Jai was sitting on a bed in the med center when Obi-Wan came in.

"I don't see how the nurse at the other place would've missed something on Obi-Wan. All that's happened to him was Force-lightening," Jai commented as the healer shoved Obi-Wan onto a bed and ordered him to take his tunic off. The healer shot Jai a venomous look.

"Last time I checked, youngling, you weren't a medical practitioner. I am." With that, the healer finished checking Obi-Wan, practically threw him out, and then approached Jai.

"Hey, hey, if you're going to use the same gentleness on me you used on him, I'd rather not, if its all the same to you..."

"_I was gentle!" _The healer wrenched Jai's new leg up, inspected and snootily approved it, told her to walk around on it, to make sure the legs were the same length, and sniffed.

"I suppose the leg is fine. If you have any problems, come and see me." She also nearly threw Jai out. Jai could hear her muttering to herself as she cleaned up. When nobody was walking by, Jai stuck her nose in the air, adopted a snooty tone of voice, and went to see Ran and Thad.


	6. Kohuns and a Rant

"So how's life at the Temple?" Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Jai were sitting in Senator Padme's living room, waiting for something to happen. Jai was bored.

"Its actually kind of boring. Like, yesterday we were in the sparring room, me and Ran were, and Master Windu comes in and asks us," She got up and deepened her voice to sound more like Mace Windu. " 'Haven't you younglings have anything better to do?'Doesn't he know that there is an unavoidable war coming and we need to practice as much as we could? So I told him that, and-"

"You did not. Tell me, please, that you didn't tell Master Windu that," Obi-Wan begged through laughter. Both he and Anakin were laughing.

"I _did_! And so he told me that I should respect the masters and he would've expected better from a youngling, especially a Kenobi. What _were_ you, Obi-Wan, a kiss-up?"

"No, not exactly. I just followed the rules!" Obi-Wan protested.

"I'm with you, Jai, Master Windu can be kind of...you know..." Anakin faltered, uncertain what to say in front of Obi-Wan. He was saved from continuing by Obi-Wan getting up and drawing his lightsaber. Anakin quickly followed suit, and Jai hurried after them. When they arrived in Padme's room, there were two deadly kohuns on the bed, making their way towards Padme. Anakin sliced them in two, and started to put away his lightsaber.

"Not so quickly, Padawan." Obi-Wan put a hand on Anakin's wrist, then took a running start and jumped through the window.

"Obi-Wan!" yelled Anakin, then ran out the door and down the stairs. Jai caught Padme's eye.

"_Men_!" they said in unison, then laughed. Then, Padme's handmaidens came and swooped down upon their mistress. They offered condolences and sympathy, and one even ventured as far as to scoop the kohun pieces up and throw them away. Jai could hear Padme's voice through the handmaiden's ruckus, and she shooed them away.

"Annoying, aren't they?" sighed Padme. Jai remembered the game she'd played with Padme once, when she was six.

_"Obi, I'm bored..." She tugged on his belt._

_"Not now, Jai, I'm trying to concentrate." Jai huffed and walked away. Padme found her and asked if she wanted to play a game._

_"Ye-es... What kind of game?" asked Jai._

_"An alphabet game. I'll say a word, then you say a word that begins with the next letter but is similar."_

_"Okay!"_

"Um... Bothersome!" Jai said, sitting on the bed.

"Cursed. I swear, your hair gets shorter every time I see you!"

"Distracting. Yeah, I know. Younglings aren't allowed to have long hair, 'cause it might get stuck in something or cut off. It hurts if it gets tangled in something!" Jai said ruefully, touching her chin-length caramel hair. It was just a shade lighter than Obi-Wan's but Jai's eyes were much darker. Hers were dark, dark blue, and his were more gray-blue.

"Exasperating. I can see that. Are you going to let it grow out when you become a Knight?"

"I can't think of one that starts with F!" Jai complained after thinking hard.

"I win!" Padme cried.

"Anyway, I'm not going to be a Knight. Skip Knight and go straight to Master, that's my plan!"

"Good luck with that!"

The two of them were sitting on the bed, still talking when Obi-Wan and Anakin returned. Obi-Wan looked battered and tired, and Anakin looked like he was ready to kill something.

"Didja catch 'em, Obi-Wan?" Jai asked.

"Come on, Jai, we've got to get back to the Temple."Obi-Wan started to leave, Anakin following him.

"Oka-ay... 'Bye, Padme!" Jai called from the living room.

"Good-bye!"

When they reached the Temple, Jai headed off to the youngling's wing, while Anakin and Obi-Wan went to the regular rooms. Jai flopped down on the bed, exhausted even though she hadn't been the one who'd jumped out the window. Remembering that, she got up to go lecture Obi-Wan. She knocked on their door, and Anakin answered.

"Hi, Jai. What're you doing here?" he asked, confused.

"Is my _dear_ brother here?" she asked tightly.

"Yeah, sure, c'mon in, one second. Obi-Wan! Jai's here!" he shouted.

"What do you want?" Obi-Wan came in, wiping his face with a towel.

"What was that, back in Padme's room? Did you even think before you jumped out the window? No, of course you didn't! Did you think you were invincible? Men! Always thinking they can't possibly be hurt, because they are so strong and everything. Well guess what! You are not invincible!" Her audience looked stunned after her tirade.

"I'm just going to...um..." Anakin edged out of the room.

"_I am a grown man_, Jai. Did it _ever_ cross your mind that what I did might've been the only way to catch whoever sent the kohuns? I can, and _will_, make my own decisions!"

"You could've died! Why didn't you just throw a tracker onto the droid, then followed it by vehicle?" That stopped Obi-Wan. "I just don't want you to die, is all. You should take better care of herself, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You think Garen would've thought you were brave, or just stupid? I think he would've thought you were stupid for jumping out of the window!" She flounced out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"That girl...acts like a mother, sometimes. I swear." Obi-Wan went back to his room.


	7. Dexter

Jai was still sore at Obi-Wan for his stupidity the night before. Her soreness lessened only slightly when he came to her room the next morning with a peace offering.

"Morning, Jai." She grunted and rolled over in bed. "If you're going to be moody like that, you can't come."

"Come where?" Jai flew up and pushed the covers off. Then she remembered she was upset. "I mean, why would I go with you anywhere, O Stupid One?"

"Too late, I caught you. I found this," he held up a little bullet. She took it and examined it, "after the assassin was killed last night. I was going to get it examined by Dexter today, then go to the library. I've already examined it in the analysis rooms, so we're going to see someone who knows what it is. But if you're still upset about last night..."

"What happened last night? I don't remember anything!" Jai feigned amnesia while putting her clothes on in her changing area. She could see Obi-Wan's silhouette through the screen. He was in front of her stinger lizard.

"Nice try. Anyway, if you want to come, be down at the front of the Temple in a half hour. If you not there in exactly one half hour, I'm leaving. Got it?"

"Yeah. See you!" He'd already left. She came out from behind the screen and strapped her beltpack on. Then she wondered why Anakin wasn't in here, pestering her to hurry up so they could go already. Oh yeah... He'd had to go and accompany Padme back to Naboo early this morning. She carefully shut their door behind her, locked it, and then checked the time. For the love of...she only had ten minutes to get down to the entrance! She raced down to the front and skidded to a halt behind Obi-Wan, who was looking around impatiently.

"I made it with a minute to spare, Obi-Wan!" He jumped, startled.

"Hooray for you. Do you have the bullet, or do we have to take another half hour while you go and get it?" She took it out of a pocket and waggled it in front of him.

"I'm not stupid, Obi," she told him, using the name she'd called him when she was little. He hated that name, but "Obi-Wan" was unpronounceable for a child. He glared at her.

"Can I have it, Jai?"

"No." He reached out for it and she ran away, laughing. She heard him curse and then run after her.

"Give it! We're going to miss the taxi!" She stopped, and handed it over.

"Fine. I'll be business-like and formal, like you." With that, she straightened her back unnaturally straight, put her hood up, and walked off, high-stepping the whole way.

"I don't walk like that." She bit her lip to keep from laughing. Out of all the things she did to annoy him, the way she walked when trying to get on his nerves got him the most upset. He caught up to her and took her hood off. They boarded the air taxi. Jai was still high-stepping.

-----------------

The red-painted diner's doors swung open quietly, and a droid dressed as a waitress zoomed up to meet them.

"Hello, we're here to see Dexter." Obi-Wan was always polite to everyone, even droids.

"He's not in trouble or nothing!" Jai added from behind Obi-Wan. "Just so you know!"

The Waitress Droid gave them a long look, then went into the kitchen. "Someone to see you, hon. Jedi, by their looks." _That's the thing about droids_, Jai thought. _Great helpers, but not the most subtle of beings._

A rumbling voice came from the kitchen. "Take a seat, Obi-Wan! Be right out!" They sat in a booth, Jai against the wall. She wasn't happy with the arrangement. As soon as they had sat, a huge alien had emerged from the steaming kitchen. Jai had to suppress a gasp. Obi-Wan elbowed her.

She'd met Dexter before, briefly. Obi-Wan need to identify something and Jai had been hanging around all day, so he took her with. All she remembered was a friendly face, four arms, and a huge cup of blue milk. She had been four, so her memories were a bit hazy, but she would've expected she could remember Dexter. He was someone that was easy to remember.

Dexter sat down, and Jai then discovered why Obi-Wan had her sit next to him. Dexter was huge.

"Obi-Wan! Haven't stopped by in a while! Should come by more often, although with your busy lifestyle I can see why you haven't come down. Was that you I spotted zooming across the sky, dangling from a droid last night?" Obi-Wan winced. Dexter turned to Jai. "And this is Jai? Obi-Wan, it has been too long! Last time I seen her, she was a little kid! Now look at her!"

"Hello, Dexter. Sorry about not stopping by more, as you said, I have been busy. Yes, this is Jai, and of course she's grown bigger, its been eight or so years since you've seen her." Obi-Wan's earlier moodiness seemed to have vanished. Jai was pleased. She now remembered Dexter, and she remembered she liked him.

"So, friend, what can I do for you? I doubt you came here just to talk." Obi-Wan glanced over at Jai, who took the bullet out of her pocket. She held it out, and Dexter took it from her, with surprising gentleness for such a large person.

"What have we here..." he muttered, turning the bullet around in his hands. After a while, he handed it back to Jai and pulled Obi-Wan into the kitchen. Jai guessed that whatever it was, he didn't want her hearing it. She sighed. She was _twelve. _Shewasn't a little kid who had to be shielded from everything. Jedi had to be ready for anything. When she was a Knight, (or more preferably, a Master), she'd have to know everything that people didn't tell her. Then she'd wish they had told her so she'd have some background information on it. She slumped down in the booth. Jai hurriedly starightened up again when the two emerged from the kitchen, Obi-Wan looked only slightly put out. Apparently whatever Dexter had said had seemed to be difficult to accomplish, but not impossible. _Too bad I probably won't know what it is_, thought Jai stubbornly as Dexter waved them out, reminding them both that they were always welcome and wishing Obi-Wan luck. Once they were on the airbus, however, Obi-Wan surprised her.

"I'm taking a wild guess here, but you didn't like not knowing what was going on in the kitchen, did you?" he asked, turning to her.

"Well, yeah."

"All he said was that it was a Kaminoan saberdart. We're going to the archives to find Kamino. I've never heard of it." Jai racked her brains trying to remember if she had heard of it in any of the lessons about the planets. She couldn't think of it. The air bus zoomed off towards the Temple as the last passenger boarded.


	8. First Argument

The air of the archives was always a bit colder than the rest of the library, and Jai shivered when they came in. Obi-Wan headed straight for the maps of the galaxy, but Jai noticed Ran and went to talk to her.

"Hi, Ran! What's up?" Ran sighed.

"I got into trouble in that Intro to Mind Tricks class, and now I have to research the person who discovered it. I hate that class!" Ran looked around the library. "And it's so huge in here, I can't find _anything_!"

"Did you ask Madame Nu? She'd probably help."

"Yeah, but then she'd lecture me on getting into trouble in the first place. I've been lectured enough today, thanks very much."

"Check the really old sections. Those records haven't been touched in, like, a million years."

"Kay. Thanks!" Ran headed to the back of the archives. Jai went to where she had seen Obi-Wan go off to and arrived just in time to see Madame Nu storming away from him. He looked slightly ashamed, but also kind of proud of himself.

"What'd you do now?" asked Jai as they left.

"Turns out that Kamino doesn't exist, according to Madame Nu. But I want to check in the galaxy map room just to be sure. Dex wouldn't give us false information, and, well, he's been around." Obi-Wan laughed.

"Now what?"

"Just that Madame Nu has really ever been proven wrong about anything. Nor has she been told that a planet not in her archives exists." Jai gaped at him.

"Thought you were a meticulous rule-follower, not a rebel who tells off the Masters! That's me and Anakin's job!"

"I'm not a rebel."

"Yes."

"I'm not arguing with you about this. Let's go back to the Temple."_ Obi-Wan walks too fast. Not everybody is a speed demon like you_, thought Jai. She quickened her stride to keep pace with him.

"Rebel." she called. He stopped and turned around.

"Jai, there's plenty of names that I could say to you, and rebel would be the nicest of them. C'mon, little sister, I need to ask Master Yoda something."

"Whatever." She gathered the Force around her and took off into the Temple, Force-speed making her easily outrun Obi-Wan. Once she reached the younglings' hall, she stopped and marched into her room. Obi-Wan and she had just had their first sibling fight. Jai didn't like it. They were supposed to get along.


	9. Making Peace

The next morning, Jai decided she should apologize to Obi-Wan for making fun of him yesterday. When she went to her brother's room, however, it was empty.

"Obi-Wan? Anakin? Anyone home?" she called, pressing the bell repeatedly to wake them up. _Whatever. I have my own way of getting in._

After reprogramming their door so she could get in, she walked through the silent rooms, all four of them. Obi-Wan's bedroom was sparsely decorated, a few holograms of Anakin, Qui-Gon, herself, and his other friends, and leftover model starships from when he was younger were the only sign that it was inhabited at all. Anakin's room, on the other hand, was filled nearly full of spare parts, tools, and all sorts of junk. Both were empty. As was the kitchen. She left, fixed the door, and went to look for them at breakfast.

"Hi, Thad! What's up?" she greeted the Rodian.

"Oh, hey, Jai. Not much, just tryin' to eat."

"You're _always_ hungry, though!" They sat and chatted amicably while they ate, Jai keeping an eye out for Obi-Wan or Anakin.

"Hey, want to spar later? I've got to find Obi-Wan now, but after lunch, you want to?"

"Yeah, okay! See you then!" They parted.

Jai remembered that Anakin was leaving for a mission today, his very first on his own. So she figured Obi-Wan was there, seeing him off. She raced to the hangar, where an air transport was filling with Jedi bound for the main hangar closer to the Senate building. She pushed herself to run faster, trying to get on before the door shut. She made it.

"Jai? What're you doing here?" She whirled around.

"There you are! I've been looking for you all morning!" Obi-Wan looked sheepish.

"Tell you the truth, I was trying to stay out of your way. You were acting kind of moody yesterday, and so I figured you were angry or something."

"No. Trust me, Obi-Wan, you'd know if I was mad at you!"

"Okay, okay, sorry."

"_Anyway_, I was looking for you so I could say sorry for acting up yesterday. Didn't mean it, you know?" she looked up at him. Obi-Wan grinned.

"No worries, kid. All's good." Jai let out a sigh of relief. She hated fighting with him.

"So what's Anakin's mission?" He filled her in on the details about the sudden trip to Naboo with Padme. Then he told her that he was off to 'discover' Kamino.

"Can I-"

"No. You can't come." Obviously he was not going to budge on this. She turned away and watched as the streets of Coruscant changed from filled with Jedi to more slummy, to nearly regal as they neared the Political District. They unboarded at the hangar.

"Bye, Anakin. See you...when you get back!" Jai laughed and said good-bye to Padme. Obi-Wan told Anakin not to do anything reckless, and their ship, a massive transport, departed. The air taxi went back to the Jedi hangar, where Obi-Wan was cleared to find his missing planet.

"Bye, Obi-Wan! May the Force be with you!" she told him. "Follow the advice you gave your Padawan, and don't do anything rash. Which means not doing anything I wouldn't do."

"So, what, I can disobey orders and goof off? Kidding!" he added hurriedly, seeing the look on her face.

"I follow orders." she muttered sullenly.

"Hey, c'mon, Jai, I was kidding!" He knelt to her level. "Seriously. I know you don't mess around all the time. You're going to be an amazing Jedi when you get older, okay?" She nodded. "Good. No, I've got a flight to take. I'll see you in a week at the latest! May the Force be with you!" He bid good-bye to Masters Windu and Yoda, who had accompanied them. Jai watched her brother's ship blast off into space. She had a very bad feeling about this mission.


	10. Mission with a Master

Later that night, Jai was 'recovering' from her sparring practice with Thad. He'd gotten a _lot _stronger since their last match, and Jai was sore everywhere. She decided to meditate before bed, hoping that it would ease the soreness and wouldn't make her be in too much pain the next morning. After meditating for a good hour and a half, she went to bed.

The next morning, she dressed, went to breakfast, and then went to her lessons. First for the day was Intro to Mind Tricks, which was a once a week class. It was also very difficult. And boring.

"Today, younglings, we shall be covering how the Force helps us with mind 'persuasion', or as young Jedi and non-Jedi say, 'mind tricks'." Master Koth told the assembled students. Jai sighed and slumped down in her seat. _Why couldn't the Masters just tell us how to do it, and not give us in-depth lessons on the basics and techniques of it? It isn't like anyone ever went through the exact process of choosing a proper way of wording the 'suggestion', then focuses on directly sending the Force through their hand and suggesting to the subject of the trick a detailed summary of what they would or would not do. It's all natural, once you practice. _

"Miss Kenobi! Is the lesson boring you, or shall we continue?" Master Koth stood at the front of the room with his arms crossed, looking at her. Jai blushed.

"Well, Master, its just that-"

"Its just what, Jai?"

"Just that it seems we spend a lot of time learning about the technicalities and precise angles of the way our hands should go. Shouldn't we be learning how to perform the action, instead of wasting time learning exact processes that nobody uses? It all becomes natural, once you practice!" The class was quiet, and she was well-aware that all eyes were on her. Master Koth regarded her thoughtfully.

"Let me present you with a situation, child." Jai bristled at the remark of her being a child, but kept quiet. "You are taking your tests to become a Knight, and-"

"I'm skipping Knight." Koth looked taken aback.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm skipping Knight, and going straight to Master." You could hear a pin drop.

"That's not really often done, Jai..."

"When is it done, then?" Master Koth glared at her.

"Do not distract me! As I was saying, I'm going to give you a situation. You are taking the tests to become a _fully-fledged Jedi, _and on the knowledge portion one of the questions asks you about the process of mind persuasion. Would you care to tell me how you would know that if you weren't taught that?" Jai didn't have an answer. "That's what I thought. Please, sit and listen now. Or you will have to stay after and we'll talk." Jai slid back down into her seat. The eyes of her classmates were still on her.

"Pay attention, future Jedi! Now, as you can see here..."

At the end of class, Jai was approached by Master Koth. About the same time, she felt slightly light-headed and ill.

"Jai, I need to talk to you about back talking in class-"

"Please, Master, not now! I feel sick!" Master Koth told her to come in the next day to speak with him. She nodded and left. Instead of going to the infirmary, she went to the High Council room. She wasn't really sick. Obi-Wan was in trouble, she knew it.

Just as she arrived, Council let out. The twelve Masters strolled by her, some saying hello, some not. Jai waited for Masters Windu and Yoda.

"Master Windu!" she called, seeing his shiny head bobbing above the rest of the Masters. He turned, saw her, and came over to her.

"Yes, youngling?" She bowed, and when she straightened she was already talking. The first part of her sentence was muffled.

"Eyyve bafeelin-"

"Don't mumble, youngling, it isn't a good image for the Jedi." Jai inwardly groaned.

"I've a bad feeling about Obi-Wan's mission, Master. I think he's in trouble." Mace studied her.

"How do you know?"

"I just-I... well... I don't know! Its just a feeling, and I _don't like it!_" Jai said this in a rush, and was surprised to find tears pricking at her eyes. _Why can't he just take what I said and go help Obi-Wan? _She angrily swiped the tears away.

"Come with me, youngling. We're going to tell Master Yoda." With that, he turned tail and walked the other way. Startled, Jai hesitated, then followed. He went into a mediation room with a holoprojector, where Yoda was already. Jai bowed respectfully, then started to wait outside.

"Wait, young Jedi! Stay, you will. Hear your suspicions, I wish to." Yoda's voice brought her back into the room. She began.

"I started to feel a bit sick in my lesson, and after I came to see Master Windu. I recognize the feeling as what we studied in class, like what you feel when someone close to you is in trouble. I figured it was about Obi-Wan." Mace switched on the projector.

"Earlier today, received we a message sent Obi-Wan from. Listen and watch." The image flickered to life. Obi-Wan reported on his findings on Geonosis, and then blaster fire zoomed into the picture. The little blue Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber to fight it off. The image crackled and died. Jai found her jaw open wide, as well as her eyes.

"What do you think?" asked Mace. _Wait... They actually want my opinion? Usually they just ignore younglings!_

"Well... Um... If I was on the Council, I'd send backup troops to help him. I mean, obviously he's in trouble, and he's kind of important, you know, so I'd send more Jedi to rescue him. That's what I think, anyway." Jai finished, and blushed. "No disrespect, Master Yoda, Master Windu."

"Taken none, Jai. Go, you and I will, to Kamino. Get backup, we shall!" Yoda told her. _ Wait-WHAT?_

"Thank you, Master! Thank you!" she stumbled over her words, and her feet on her way out, bowing as she went. "Um... I'll be ready in a half hour!" If she wasn't mistaken, then she could hear them laughing as the door slid shut. _Wizard! I get to go WITH Master Yoda on a mission! This is so cool! _

When Jai got back to her room, she finally let a slow grin spread over her face. She was actually going on a mission! Obi-Wan hadn't let her tag along with he and Anakin since the incident on Fresia two years ago, and she was dying to see the galaxy again. Especially hyperspace. There was a knock on her door.

"Hi, Ran! What's up?" Jai greeted her best friend.

"Hi! Not much, I'm just bored. I heard you got in trouble in class today too! Just like me a few days ago!" Ran laughed.

"Yeah, but I didn't get set a research paper. Didn't even get in trouble!" Ran gaped a Jai.

"What? Master Koth always punishes people! How'd you get out of it?"

"I didn't feel good, and told him so. He let me go. By the way, I won't be here for the next few days."

"What? Why not? You get to miss the test in History of the Jedi! Sith, you're so lucky, I don't get that class at all! How'd you get out?"

The girls sat on Jai's sleep-couch, and Jai told her about how she hadn't felt well after class, and the discussion with Masters Yoda and Windu. "So I get to go to Kamino with Master Yoda, I think we're leaving tonight or tomorrow." Ran sighed and flopped back so she was hanging off the foot of the sleep-couch.

"You're so lucky... Oh yeah! Guess what!"

"What?"

"So I was talking to Nara and Corvey, yeah?"Jai nodded, remembering. She'd been there but had left because she had class. Nara was a young Melodie, and Corvey was a Human boy. "So after you left, we kept talking. And I don't remember what we were talking about, but then out of nowhere, Corvey asked Nara if she wanted to get lunch later! Isn't that weird? I always thought he didn't like anyone, that he was to much of a rule-follower to do that!"

Jai shifted uncomfortably. Although romance was technically forbidden, it wasn't unusual to find young love amongst the younglings. As long as the Masters didn't know, nobody cared. Everybody forgot once they turned into Padawans, because Padawans had start becoming real Jedi. That wasn't what Jai was uncomfortable about, she didn't like it when her friends criticized the rule-followers, because she knew that Obi-Wan had been the biggest rule-follower of all.

"Yeah, I guess that is pretty weird! Hey, I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired. See you later!" Ran left and Jai flopped into bed, falling asleep quickly.


	11. To Kamino

Kamino was _wet. _Much wetter than anywhere Jai had been before, and wetter than she preferred. Master Yoda seemed unfazed by the torrential rain, and gotten out of the ship quickly. He'd left with the other Masters to go in, and they'd left a creche Master in charge of watching the numerous Padawans and younglings still aboard the ship. Jai was sitting between Thad and Ran, and all three were chattering away to each other, excitedly nervous about the coming possible battle.

At the last minute, that morning, the Council had decided to take the older younglings and Padawan/Master pairs to Kamino and then to Geonosis to help. Reserves were always needed, and this was no exception. Jai only hoped that they'd get there in time before Obi-Wan was killed.

"Jai! Jai! Are you excited? 'Cause I am! We're going on a _mission_! Are you excited?" Ran was obviously very excited, she was repeating herself. Jai grinned and poked Thad.

"Thad! We're excited! Are you excited? Because guess what! We're going on a mission!" Thad sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I know we're going on a mission. You've told me we're going on a mission all day. Yes, I'm excited. Yes, I can see you're excited."

"Spoilsport." whispered Ran to Jai. They giggled. Across the ship, Nara and Corvey were arguing, loudly.

"That didn't last long." commented Jai. The Masters re-boarded the ship.

"Children! Dividing you up, we are. Some stay on this transport, they will. On the ship with the soldiers, other will. Masters there will be on both ships." Yoda said, and there was sudden jostling to go with friends between ships. Jai found herself and Ran separated from Thad, and they were shoved into the rain. Jai was immediately soaked.

"Looks like we're goin' on the other transport!" shouted Jai over the thundering rainstorm. They hurried over, and soldiers dressed in white helped them on. Once all the younglings and Padawans were safely on board, the transports took off. Jai gazed in awe around her. The soldiers were sitting perfectly straight, with no movement, and they didn't seem to be distracted by anything. They children looked somewhat unsettled by it, because they'd gotten used to even the Masters being distracted by things on occasion.

"Wonder what'd happen if you poked one?" whispered a boy on Jai's left.

"They'd probably not notice. And if they did, then they'd kill you!" Jai laughed. One of the Masters looked her way and she bit her lip. They ship took off into hyperspace.

* * *

Before long, the transport came out of hyperspace and they were approaching Geonosis' atmosphere. The younglings crowded to the windows to see if they could see their friends on the other ship, and the Padawans sat still, looking condescendingly at the younger kids.

"I think that's Thad..." said Ran, directly in Jai's ear. She winced.

"There's Nara and Corvey, I think... Separate windows, though." They giggled.

"They would've had to break up in like a year anyway. 'Cause of bein' Padawans and all." The girls were silenced by the rumbling that announced they were landing. Within minutes, they were all standing in the dirt, looking around. Raucous cheering was coming from a nearby valley.

"Younglings! Go, you will, to wait in the shadows! Master Windu and I, with the clones, we shall go!" The younglings nodded, and silently followed one of the other Masters. The earlier good mood had vanished, replaced with the terrible realization that not all of the younglings would see the Temple ever again. Jai, Ran, and Thad drew closer together and went into the shadow of the stadium. The younglings waited about ten minutes. A silent gesture from the Master brought them into the stadium, blinking in the sudden harsh sunlight.


End file.
